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​The California Right to Repair Act (“the Act”), Civil Code § 895 et seq., provides a comprehensive list of residential construction standards and legal remedies to homeowners for a builder’s violation of these standards. The Act requires homeowners to give the builder notice of alleged violations and provides the builder the right to inspect and repair defects at the builder’s option, so long as the right is exercised within reasonable time limits (Civil Code §§ 910, 912). In most multi-family dwellings, such as condominium buildings, lawyers for the homeowners are involved early and are familiar with the proper procedures where there is an alleged violation of the Act. For single family homes, however, a homeowner generally makes a claim to his/her homeowner’s insurer, and that insurer usually makes necessary repairs, if covered, promptly. When an insurer undertakes the repair, it may fail to give the builder the required notice and opportunity to inspect and repair as required by Act.This is exactly what occurred in a recent matter Livingston Law Firm handled. The homeowners claimed their pool house was flooded and the floors and cabinets damaged due to builder negligence. While the homeowner’s insurer did give the builder notice of the loss, the insurer made repairs without informing the builder it was doing so or giving the builder the opportunity to repair. While our client, the builder, disputed liability, the failure of the insurer to give the builder the right to repair was a complete defense to the claim. When all the facts were presented, the homeowner’s insurer withdrew its claim.

Livingston Law Firm showed up in force for the 2019 annual meeting of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) in Los Angeles, California last month. Renée Welze Livingston, Crystal L. Van Der Putten and John C. Hentschel joined over 900 law firm member attorneys, in-house counsel and other legal professionals from around the United States for three days of legal education, networking and fun. On behalf of the Trial Practice Committee, Ms. Livingston led a lively CLE panel entitled, Shark Tank: Sink or Swim at Trial, that focused on best practices for lawyers and in-house counsel during trial.​NAMWOLF is a nonprofit trade association that promotes diversity in the legal profession by fostering successful relationships among preeminent minority and women owned law firms and private and public entities. It is one of the most powerful networks in the industry to connect in-house counsel with highly-qualified women and minority firms. To learn more about NAMWOLF please visit www.namwolf.org.​